Thomas Jefferson Essay

The turmoil inflicted by the American Revolution and the American Civil War did not waver the desire of the Americans to extend its territory. They were driven with a strong nationalism which kept them as a country despite the domestic turmoil. However, the ideology of “Manifest Destiny” became a major factor in the American continental expansion. This ideology lies on the belief that America is destined by God and by history to expand its territories as a way of extending American liberty (Brinkley 340).

This idea evolved in the concept of “white supremacy” and used as a tool to justify its expansion. This movement first began when America acquired Louisiana or famously called the “Louisiana Purchase” in 1803. The French offered the huge mass of land and America bought it for $11 M (Singh 20). From this, the American government continued to buy lands equating continental expansion as a way of establishing power and economic advantages. After the American Revolution, continental expansion became a united advocacy throughout the country.

However, the acquisition of more lands especially with that coming from the South left America to be divided with regards to the issue of slavery and civil war eventually followed. While in the course of acquiring these lands, war inevitably happened due to resistance of American invasion. Most prominent of these resistances was claiming the territory of Texas which used to be under the rule of the Mexican government where battles ensued during the mid-1830s.

The continental expansion became a bloody game for the Americans to fulfill the “Manifest Destiny” as well as to establish the economy and military might which entails a huge territory – the factors which made the United States the most powerful state in the global arena. Works Cited Brinkley, Alan. American History: A Survey, Volume 1-12th Edition. USA: McGraw-Hill, 2007. Singh, Robert. Governing America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

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